Baby Left At Fire Station After Being Abandoned At Motel

A woman left a 5-month-old baby in the care of Houston fire fighters after its mother failed to pick her, KPRC-Houston reports.

The woman, who identified herself only as Alysha (pictured), said that she and a another woman ran into the mother in the street around 3 a.m. Monday. The mother asked Alysha if she could care for the 5-month-old baby for the night.

“The word was that we would help the mom because she was supposedly trying to get money for the baby’s diapers,” Alysha said.

When Alysha and the woman dropped off the mother at the Cullen Inn Motel where she and her daughter had been staying, they realized the baby had been left in the room alone. Alysha said she took the baby and told the mother to call her in the morning, but she never did. Unable to find the mother, Alysha decided to take the baby to Fire Station 35, in southeast Houston.

The baby was was in good health when she was dropped off, according to fire officials. Alysha said medication left with the baby indicate that her name is Lily.

Under the “Baby Moses Law,” a child under 60-days-old can be dropped off at a fire station without consequence. Lily is 5-months-old, but local authorities said Alysha still did the right thing.

“This one doesn’t quite qualify,” said Cpt. Ruy Lozano with the Houston Fire Department. “But just because it doesn’t qualify doesn’t mean it’s not the right thing to do.”

The baby’s mother, Stephanie Estrada, 23, was arrested early Tuesday morning in the parking lot of a bar in Houston. Police say she was picked up on outstanding warrants.